Literacy Strategies
SQRQCQ
The SQRQCQ literacy strategy was specially designed to assist students in learning
mathematics. The steps include the following:
SURVEY
First, the students survey the problem rather quickly to
get a general idea or understanding of it.
QUESTION
Then they come up with questions — what they believe
the problem is asking for.
REREAD
The third step is to reread the problem to identify facts,
relevant information, and details they will need to solve it.
Now another question is formulated that focuses on
what mathematical operation(s) to apply.
COMPUTE
The students actually compute the answer — solving
the problem.
QUESTION
The question to be asked at this point involves the
accuracy of the answer. Is it correct? Does the answer
make sense?
A transparency master is included in this chapter that you can use with your students to
help them see the steps involved in using SQRQCQ.
In fact, SQRQCQ is almost like a “secret” for solving word problems, which have long
been a nemesis for nearly every math student. When students encounter a word problem,
they frequently think, “I have never been good at word problems, and this time will be no
different.” In actuality, what most students need is a plan to attack a problem systematically
and to make the best use of all the information that the problem offers. Below we will look
at some actual examples in which SQRQCQ helps them to do just that:
Suppose that students are given the following problem:
Chris had some glass bears. He was given 8 more for his birthday.
Now he has 15. How many glass bears did he have before?
Using SQRQCQ, students would:
•␣ SURVEY the problem and notice that Chris has 8 items and receives
some more to make a total of 15 items.
SQRQCQ
QUESTION
•␣ The QUESTION the problem is asking would seem to be “How many
items did he start out with?”
•␣ REREADING would cause students to think “8 plus some number equals 15.”
•␣ Students would QUESTION themselves:
When I know a sum and one of the two addends, how can I find
the other addend? or If 8 + N = 15, the how can I find N?
The students would realize that they have to subtract the find the answer,
since subtraction is the inverse operation of addition.
•␣ Next, they would COMPUTE the solution to the equation as follows:
8 + N = 15
8 - 8 + N = 15 - 8
N=7
•␣ Finally, they would QUESTION themselves again:
Is it true that 7 + 8 = 15? or if Chris started with 7 glass bears
and received 8 more, would he have 15? The answer is “Yes”,
so the computed answer is correct.
␣Literacy & Learning: Reading in the Content Areas •
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Here is another example:
Each school T-shirt costs the same amount. Anita paid $15
for 3 T-shirts. What was the cost of each shirt?
The following steps show student thinking:
SURVEY
QUESTION
REREAD
I notice that Anita has 3 shirts and paid $15 total for the
3 of them.
I’m looking for the cost of each of the 3 shirts Anita bought.
Since the problem says that each shirt costs the same
amount, I know that the cost I find will be the same for
each one.
If I know that 3 shirts cost $15, then what operation do I
use to find the cost of one shirt?, or 3 times the cost
equals $15, so I must divide $15 by 3 to find the cost of
one shirt (since division is the inverse of multiplication).
COMPUTE
3 X N = 15
(3 X N) divided by 3 = 15 divided by 3
N=5
QUESTION
If one shirt costs $5, would 3 shirts cost $15, or Is it true that
3 time $5 is $15? Yes it is, so the answer must be correct.
SQRQCQ
QUESTION
␣Literacy & Learning: Reading in the Content Areas •
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